申論題

       Almost as commonly circulated a term in reference to Debussy is Symbolism. This is a much fairer assessment of his music. The movement, which has its origins in the writings of Charles Baudelaire, grew quickly in Paris during the latter half of the nineteenth century. In brief, Symbolism was a reaction against Realism, and can be seen as almost the antithesis of Impressionism. Its followers were concerned with externalising, through the means of art, the internal, and often infernal, world of the mind, dreams and the supernatural. There is unimpeachable evidence to align Claude Debussy with Symbolism. To begin with, it was a movement rooted in literary origins. Debussy, despite being largely uneducated in any discipline but music, was ‘well-read’ and had ‘a passion for literature’ that permeated through to his compositions. His strongest influences were words and writers rather than the visual arts (although Symbolism wasn’t exclusively a literary movement; it existed in art too). 

       Debussy gravitated towards Symbolist beliefs, and forged close friendships with notable figures associated with the movement, such as Paul Bourget and Stèphane Mallarmé, whose literary salon he was a regular attendee of. Much of his music was overtly Symbolist in character. _________________, the orchestral tone poem that took his recognition to a new level entirely, is based on a poem by Mallarmé. Its whimsical flute opening is tonally and rhythmically ambiguous, portraying the indistinct dreams of the eponymous faun; a central theme in Symbolist philosophy.